its weird hearing all these stories of horrible customer service and horrible quality. my focus has a few faults but that is expected in a BRAND NEW MODEL with A FIRST YEAR PRODUCTION ON NEW TOOLING. I have taken mine back for a rattling headliner and a rattling passenger seat along with a wind noise issue with the microphone. Every time I have been treated extremely well with an explanation of the steps involved and the shop foreman speaking to me when the situation could not be duplicated the first time. Hell half the time the foreman would come up with a decision on his own as to why the part failed and would fix it with better results than the standard Ford Recommendation. Compared to what I went through with Chrysler I would buy another Ford in a heartbeat! A majority of complaints I see is with the DCT Transmission and honestly I am shocked at how many people buy a car and are oblivious to what they are buying it is an automated manual transmission with a dry clutch...there's a simple solution just buy a regular manual transmission car and reap the benefits or more durable usage, better gas mileage, longer service life, and the knowledge that regardless of fail it still can be used to drive to a garage or safe spot in order to be fixed. To those who say they do not want a manual transmission or have a leg problem that prevents them from doing so may I suggest the 2013 Ford Fusion?

Given there are known problems with the DCT, notably lousy software for the first, oh 15 months of production, bad clutches (long-shoulder rivets were an intended solution) and leaking seals that contaminate the clutch plates, I think it's not quite right to blame the user. Most of us here knew exactly what we were buying, it just doesn't work very well for some.

As far as buying a manual, 3 problems for many of us: spouses and/or too short gearing on the manual and/or living in an urban environment where a manual is not very appealing.

Further, this is mass-market car that is sold to everyone from enthusiasts to grandmothers, not a Porsche. Without explanation (heck even with explanation) do you expect everyone in this population to understand the DCT difference? Do you think Ford tried to explain the differences to customers? Do you think the salespeople understand the difference? Should this group understand the pluses and minuses of direct fuel injection, too? Electric power assisted steering?

This is a troublesome gearbox. While the basics seem solid, the clutches and software are problems. Even Consumer Reports says so, giving the "transmission minor" trouble area its worst reliability mark.

If the 2013 Fusion had been available when I bought my Focus I probably would gone that way instead. Then I could participate in a forum about engines that catch fire instead. At least the dealer couldn't say "can't duplicate problem"!

If the 2013 Fusion had been available when I bought my Focus I probably would gone that way instead. Then I could participate in a forum about engines that catch fire instead. At least the dealer couldn't say "can't duplicate problem"!

A majority of complaints I see is with the DCT Transmission and honestly I am shocked at how many people buy a car and are oblivious to what they are buying it is an automated manual transmission with a dry clutch...

Why should that matter with a DCT that is operating properly?

The goal for the DCT was to make a transmission that has the drivability (smoothness) of a conventional automatic but with greater efficiency.

A majority of complaints I see is with the DCT Transmission and honestly I am shocked at how many people buy a car and are oblivious to what they are buying it is an automated manual transmission with a dry clutch...

What are you blathering on about sir? You've totally missed the mark. The majority of complaints are from people expecting their DCT to act like an automated manual. Most have experienced a perfectly operating DCT in the first few weeks or months of ownership, maybe longer, and therefore know exactly how the DCT is SUPPOSED to operate. It's only when the seals decide to start leaking, or the software decides to do a HAL 9000, or some other malady and we start getting extreme shuddering or loss of power that we complain.

If you haven't experienced these things then you have no idea what I'm talking about and you should therefore pipe down.

And manuals often do not get better gas mileage than automatics these days, as is the case in the very Focus you are currently driving.

Curiously enough, the fix for the (1.6L EB) engine fires is a software update.

Which doesn't seem to be an actual fix at all though since it claims to only affect things after the engine has already lost too much coolant and has overheated. How is shutting a few valves after the coolant has escaped going to prevent the car from self immolating? Has anyone gotten a better explanation of this?

The actual service bulletin says that they were also to inspect the car thoroughly for coolant and oil leaks, as well as to pressurize the cooling system to proof test that it wasn't currently an issue on the car.

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